1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to a computer input device known as a mouse and more specifically to a mouse having a retractable pen-like body for inputting and digitizing analog tracings.
2. Description of Related Art
It is known in the art to reposition a cursor on a computer video display using a pointing device, the most common of which is known as a mouse. The mouse is a device for relatively moving a cursor displayed on a computer video display, and can be used to draw figures or the like when the user moves the mouse in conjunction with software which permits and accepts tracing information. A mouse may take the form of a body having a rotatably supported ball whose angular displacement is used to detect the distance traversed by the mouse, or a touch pad where a user glides his finger across a pressure sensitive pad which translates finger movement into cursor movement. Another mouse variation is a body having an opening on its bottom surface, an opti-electrical transducer contained in the body emitting and detecting reflected light through the opening as the mouse is traversed over a reflecting surface.
Mice shaped like pens are also known in the art, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,434,594 to Martinelli et al. teaches a pen-shaped mouse where a user holds the unit like a pen and at the expected point end is a ball whose response to motion is detected by sensors inside the pen-like body. Buttons activating switches are located on the main shaft of the pen-like body.
In operation, all mice detect movement in the X and Y plane when a user moves the mouse in anticipation of moving a cursor on a video display.
Mechanical mice are generally constructed having a spherical ball protruding below a bottom surface of the mouse, the ball freely rotating as the mouse is moved by the user along a flat surface. Inside the mouse, the ball is coupled to sensors which detect and translate the motion of the mouse, this translated motion signal output from the mouse to the computer. The sensors may be mechanical or opti-electrical. When the mouse is used for purposes other than repositioning a cursor, for example, drawing pictures or tracing, the mouse becomes bulky and awkward to use.
A pen-like mouse gives the user the ability to draw and trace with ease and accuracy unavailable in a table top mouse described above, however, when the user requires use of the mouse for general cursor control, the pen-like mouse becomes awkward to constantly pick up and put down. Thus, when a user desires to draw with a mouse, a pen-like mouse is more suitable. However, when a user desires to use the mouse for cursor control, a desk top mouse is more appropriate. Today's computer systems generally limit the number of input devices, for example, a keyboard and a mouse, making two different movable pointing devices impractical. Additionally, two moveable pointing devices would undoubtedly cause a conflict with today's computer software.